教训类叙事与自强之道: 读清华简《越公其事》

Yue gong qi shi 越公其事 is a recently published manuscript from the Tsinghua University collection. The manuscript provides a new version of the well-known story of King Goujian of Yue, who turned defeat into victory and overcame Yue’s formidable rival, the state of Wu. My exploration of this text focuses on its two most notable aspects. First, the story about the policy of selfstrengthening allegedly adopted by Goujian offers new insights into the evolution of political thought in the Warring States period. Second, the text allows deeper insight into the genre of didactic historical narratives that became prominent at a certain point of time between the Springs and Autumns and the Warring States periods.